Reading Eagle – When Nelson Peltz puts his money at risk in a company, he expects to shake things up.
That was the case in his junk-bond fueled takeover of National Can Co. in 1985, his celebrated turnaround of soft-drink maker Snapple in the late ’90s and more recent forays involving brands such as Cracker Barrel, Wendy’s and Heinz.
Just the news last week that Peltz’s hedge fund, Trian Group, had built up a 1.2 percent stake in Tribune Co. in recent months was enough to make the media conglomerate’s stock jump nearly 5 percent in a day.
Wall Street speculated that the 64-year-old billionaire would increase the pressure already being applied by a dissident shareholder group that has called on Tribune management to sell assets, spin off its broadcast division or sell the company.
Investors in Peltz’s fund expect him and his team to be anything but passive investors, Peltz said.
